<p>There is simply no basis to some of the claims here about Yale’s undergraduate engineering program.</p>
<p>Harvardfan – you simply cannot translate the amount/quality of research publications and directly relate it to the quality of the undergraduate program. The connection between the two is virtually nonexistent. Look around at the top engineering PhD programs (or even science for that matter) in the US. Look at where the kids come from. A significant portion of them come from lower-profile research schools. Why is that? These lower profile schools also aren’t filled with “great faculty researchers” (IIT is an example). The truth is that it doesn’t take a prolific academic to teach what is already known, which is a large part of the undergraduate curriculum. Research is about finding out what’s unknown, which is an entirely different ball game.</p>
<p>Yale’s engineering program should be judged on its undergraduate curriculum, its ability to accommodate its students for undergraduate research in engineering, and its ability to place its undergraduates in top tier graduate schools or top tier jobs. The quality of the faculty research is not as relevant. Whether one faculty member wins a Nobel Prize does virtually nothing for graduate school/ job placements. Many schools have several Nobel Prizes; that doesn’t make them a great undergraduate school.</p>
<p>For the science/engineering inclined, I can see where Yale may not compete as well with a Stanford or a MIT because Stanford and MIT allocate more money towards undergraduate research in engineering. Stanford, Caltech, and MIT allocate the most money per student out of any school towards undergraduate engineering/science research, and they all have well developed undergrad research programs. That’s not to say that one can’t succeed Yale’s environment, but it takes a more proactive student, which Yale doesn’t really lack
Sure, Yale is a first class institution. It still doesn’t attract a* significant portion* of first class engineering researchers. I’m not saying it won’t be able to do it in the future; they could very well become an engineering powerhouse in the future. They are going to have to manage their money well.</p>
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Agreed.</p>